


Through Fabled Forests

by labellelunaclaire



Series: AUgust 2020 [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU-gust 2020, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25501378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/labellelunaclaire/pseuds/labellelunaclaire
Summary: Day 1 — FantasyThe recently knighted Annabeth Chase is tasked with escorting Prince Perseus to a neighboring kingdom, through an enchanted forest.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: AUgust 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860763
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: AUgust 2020





	Through Fabled Forests

**Author's Note:**

> What the fuck is up, PJO fandom? Haven’t seen you guys for a while! I’ll be super real with you and say that I haven’t kept up with any of Rick Riordan’s books since Blood of Olympus came out, so I’m very behind with the times. I just really wanted to participate in AUgust and several of the prompts immediately made me think of PJO. So literally 6 years after I wrote my last PJO fanfic, I'm back for one month only! Maybe now that my depression is semi under control, I'll try to catch back up in all the mythology books so I can see what I've been missing.

**** There was a lot on Annabeth’s mind.

It was easy to get lost in thought while riding through dull countryside on horseback, but she forced herself to stay focused on the road, and anything that may be lurking behind trees or bushes. This was her chance to prove herself. And if she failed, she wouldn’t get another chance.

Even if she lived.

Riding beside her, on a beautiful stallion called Blackjack, was the crown prince of the kingdom, the only son of King Poseidon and his royal consort, Lady Sarah. Prince Persues.

She’d been tasked with escorting him to a neighboring kingdom to meet with their royal family. It was his first time going alone on a diplomatic mission, and she’d been told that he requested her  _ specifically _ to go with him as his guide and guard.

Annabeth was the first woman in the kingdom to be knighted, and at nineteen at that. She fought hard for her position, training daily since she was eleven years old.

“We’re almost to the enchanted forest, Your Majesty,” she said after they’d been riding for several hours. They were deep in the countryside by now, with its rolling hills and fields and scattered cottages. The few villages they passed were small, composed of just a few shops and pubs, perhaps the odd inn.

The prince just hummed in acknowledgement. He’d tried making conversation towards the beginning of their journey, but he gave up after an hour or two, when it became clear to him that Annabeth wasn’t much of a conversationalist. She couldn’t be. Not when her entire job was to keep an eye out for any possible signs of danger.

Finally, not even a quarter hour later, the pair crested a hill and could see the tall, thick wall of trees. The sight was dark and foreboding, even though Annabeth knew there was nothing to fear. Enchanted though the forest was, those who traveled through it never reported any true danger. Just whispers and mild mischief from the spirits and apparitions that dwell there.

“Have you ever been through the forest before?” Prince Perseus asked, pulling up next to her.

“Once,” she said, her eyes trained on the mass of trees. “When I was very young.”

“It’s not a big deal,” he said breezily. “We make the journey every year or so, for royal dinners and festivals. When I was a kid, I used to chase the wisps. Mom didn’t like that very much.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Annabeth muttered. “We’ll stick to the trail as much as we can and make camp before sundown. We should make it to the palace tomorrow evening.”

The trail through the forest was well traveled, but Annabeth still felt a sense of unease, like she was being watched. Not exactly the most helpful of feelings when she was supposed to be keeping the crown prince of her kingdom safe from someone who might want to harm him. The canopy was thick, blocking out most of the light from the sun and casting harsh shadows from the wild underbrush. The forest seemed so unnaturally still and quiet, like there were no animals living there. And yet, occasionally, a bird would call, or a deer would dash out in front of their horses and give Annabeth a miniature heart attack.

At long, long last, the day was drawing to a close, though Annabeth had to use a fair amount of guesswork to decide when that was with the sparse light.

“We should make camp, Your Highness,” she said, her voice sounding far too loud in her ears, yet failing to carry as the strange forest dampened it.

“Sounds like a plan,” the prince replied, dismounting from his stallion.

Annabeth dismounted her gray and white mare — a lovely creature called Athena that she was presented with at her knighting — and took hold of her reins, leading the prince and his horse off of the path a ways, occasionally marking their trail with a piece of chalk on the trees. The last thing she needed was to get lost in the enchanted forest.

A few minutes of walking found them in a modest little clearing, just large and flat enough to set up a tent and fire and tie up the horses for the night. While Prince Perseus grabbed his canteen to take a drink, Annabeth began undoing the tent roll from the back of her horse’s saddle. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t practiced setting up this tent a dozen times before leaving on this mission, desperate not to seem incapable. She worked quickly and skillfully, aware that the prince could be judging her every move, silently deciding whether she was worthy of another mission of this caliber.

When the tent was properly set up and bed rolls set into place inside, she grabbed flint and began making a fire from fallen branches and leaves. This was something she was much better at. Growing up a poor runaway, she’d built many fires, and far fewer tents.

“Camp is prepared, Your Highness,” Annabeth called to the prince as she finished fanning the flame into a respectably warm and inviting fire.

Prince Perseus came and sat down next to her —  _ right _ next to her. She hadn’t expected him to settle himself so close. In his hand was a loaf of bread, which he ripped in two and handed her half.

“You don’t have to call me that, you know,” he said easily, tearing off pieces of bread and plopping them into his mouth. “ _ Your Majesty, Your Highness, Prince Perseus _ . I just prefer Percy.”

She looked at him, taking in his dark hair and green eyes. “You’re the prince. I’m your sworn protector. It wouldn’t be right for me to call you anything else.”

He winced, and sat quietly for a moment, slowly chewing his bread in what seemed to be deep thought.

“I wasn’t supposed to be a prince,” he said at last. “I was meant to be a bastard.”

Annabeth nodded. She, of course, knew the strange circumstances of the prince’s birth. Everyone in the kingdom knew.

“My mother was lowborn,” he continued, staring into the fire. “Just a normal girl when she met my father. And then she found out she was pregnant. So my father made her a lady and legitimized me at birth so I could be his heir. But any other king wouldn’t have, and I would have grown up like any other bastard.”

“But you’re not a bastard,” Annabeth insisted. “You’re a prince. And one day you’ll be the king.”

He looked at her and smiled, bright and inviting, a little mischievous. “Exactly,” he said. “I’m a prince. So call me Percy. At least when it’s just us. Or if it’s just us and my mom around. She’ll definitely insist that you call her Sally and not  _ Lady Sarah _ .”

Annabeth took a deep breath. “Okay… Percy,” she sighed, trying to ignore the little stab of anxiety that shot through her at the informality of it all. She took a bite of the bread that he had shared with her to distract herself. It was made of far finer flour than she was used to, which only highlighted the differences between them.

“Do you know why I chose to have you as my guide, Annabeth?” the prince — Percy — asked her. She shook her head, and he continued. “Because I knew that any woman who was strong enough and smart enough to become a knight must be ten times stronger and smarter than any other knight out there.”

She let out a laugh. “You’re not wrong,” she told him. “I’ve been training non-stop since I was eleven. I knew that if I wanted a chance, I had to be the best, and even then, I’d been seen as inferior.”

They fell into a companionable silence as the sun finally set fully, plunging the forest into absolute darkness except for their fire. Occasionally, Percy would ask her about her childhood, her experiences as a runaway, how she came to be the ward of Sir Chiron, who had saved her from the streets and taught her everything she needed to know to become a knight. Twice, their heads whipped around at the sound of a ghostly whisper, only to catch sight of a spectral light disappearing as they laid eyes on it.

“I hate spirits,” Annabeth finally said, trying to stop her heart from pounding so fast after the second wisp vanished. “They should stay in their own realm.”

“Maybe we’re the ones invading their realm right now,” Percy said with a shrug. “As long as they don’t hurt us, I don’t mind them. We should probably get to sleep, though.”

“As long as the wisps stay outside the tent, I’ll be fine,” Annabeth responded.

“Well, I can promise you that I’ve never seen a wisp inside a tent before.”

Annabeth gathered some dirt from the forest floor and used it to smother the dying fire, and she and Percy went into the tent and settled themselves into their bedrolls.

“Goodnight, Annabeth,” Percy said quietly.

“Goodnight, Percy,” Annabeth replied, and the smile she had on her face stayed with her long after she fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> That was so much harder than it should have been, honestly. I very nearly used a joker prompt for this one because was having such a difficult time with the fantasy prompt. I'm still not entirely happy with the end product, but the deadline is here, and so the fic has to be done. I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Also, huge thanks to my amazing fincée for proof reading this fic after I finished and rage-posted it at 10:30pm, declaring, “There! It’s done! It’s finished! It’s dead to me! I’m not even going to reread it for grammar!” She’s never read the PJO books and everything she knows comes from me and some friends in college. She’s the best. :’)


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